Chapter 15
Tyler
Harris was quiet and a little fidgety all through dinner.
He’d skipped having a beer with everyone else, even though I didn’t mind if he drank.
Just because alcohol messed with my blood sugar didn’t mean that I cared if people imbibed around me.
But he’d ordered a diet soda, same as me, and smiled at me when I blew the paper wrapper off the straw into his face.
Mom chastised me but I ignored her.
Morgan carried the conversation. Mom had asked him about the events he planned and he was off like a shot, talking with his hands, and every once in a while, making Barrett agree with him.
My parents adored him completely, but it was easy to see why.
He was the epitome of sunshine and unicorn farts. He was joy personified.
My friend had chosen well.
Arlo came out to say hello and comped an appetizer for us, which was unnecessary but appreciated.
He pulled up a chair and talked with my dad for a few minutes, and it was like an adoration society about Barrett.
Barrett, for his part, pretended he couldn’t hear them.
But I saw him blow out a breath of relief when Arlo got called away.
“Harris,” my dad said, startling Harris enough that he whipped his head in my dad’s direction. Dad smiled. “Can I ask about the sanctuary?”
Harris cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. Sure.”
“Here. Switch places with me,” I said, nudging Harris to stand up.
He shot me a wide-eyed look but got up and sat in my seat.
As a reward, I slid my hand onto his thigh so he would know I was there and I had his back.
His muscles were tense, but he answered my dad’s questions and explained how and why he’d started the sanctuary.
Leaving out the part about his own father, which I couldn’t blame him for.
Mom waved her hand to catch my attention, and when I leaned over the table, she mouthed, “He’s a catch.”
I snorted a laugh and winked, because he really was.
Before long, we were finished eating and just taking up table space.
It wasn’t that late, but people were waiting.
Now that I’d worked here, I knew how annoying that was, so I paid the bill despite my dad’s protests and chivvied everyone out the door.
While my parents were involved in saying goodbye to Morgan and Barrett, I caught Harris’s hand.
“Let me send my parents on their way, and then I’ll meet you at home, okay?’
Harris breathed deeply, like his lungs were expanding fully for the first time in a while.
He smiled then, his real smile, the one I didn’t realize had been missing all night until just that moment.
His fake one was good, I’d give him that.
But now, in the lights of the parking, I saw the way his true one reached his eyes.
“I’ll be waiting.” He touched my thumb, stroked a finger along it, and my blood heated. Good Christ.
Because he wasn’t a heathen, he made sure to say goodbye to my parents. Of course, that meant he had to stand there for a few minutes while they gushed at him.
“Your ranch is so beautiful,” Mom said, hand on her chest. “I’m going to book a cabin for next year. Early so I can spend more than one day here in this charming town.”
Harris’s smile slipped but he sounded sincere when he said, “I’ll make sure you get the friends and family discount.”
She hugged him then and though he looked a touch uncomfortable, he returned it. Then it was my dad’s turn. Not only did Harris get a handshake, but he got a clap on the shoulder too. My dad liked him.
“Thank you for showing us everything. And the zebras.” Dad winked like it was a secret. “What you do is important and I’m honored to know you.”
That shocked the hell out of Harris, judging by the way he went stock still. He recovered a moment later. “Thank you. It means a lot to hear that. You and your wife are welcome any time.”
Mom butted in, “Once I tell Lainey about it, she’ll want to come too. Are your cabins children friendly?”
“Okay, Mom,” I said with a laugh, breaking it up. Harris had reached his socialization limit. I could tell. “You guys need to get settled in your tiny house for the night and Harris has gotta get going.”
Mom blinked, and then in her most innocent voice, she asked, “But aren’t you going with him?”
I didn’t dare look at Harris. “I drove you here, remember? I’ll drive back myself.”
“Oh right. Silly me. Of course.”
I gave Dad a look. He understood immediately and held out his arm. “Come on, my love. Let the boys have their night. We have our own.”
I faced palmed, then nudged Harris on. He simply turned and walked to his truck.
His shoulders were tense, but I’d deal with that when I got home.
First, my parents. I hugged them both and quickly solidified plans for breakfast, then waited until they got into their car and drove away before I did the same.
I raced back to the ranch, glad the streets were mostly empty. I didn’t want Harris stewing in his own head too long. He’d been off the whole night, but he’d come anyway, even knowing he would be uncomfortable. He did that for me, and I needed to make sure he was okay.
And maybe reward good behavior.
He was standing on the porch when I pulled in, Cheddar nosing the snow. I hopped down and jogged over, not stopping until I ran right into him. He grabbed me even as he oofed and when I wrapped my arms around him, he hugged me tightly.
“How bad was it?”
“Not bad.” He buried his face against my neck and inhaled deeply. “I just felt awkward the whole time. Nice parents are kind of a foreign concept.”
I pulled back and cupped his face. “You’ve seen nice parents before. I know you must have.”
“Yeah. Sure. It’s just different when it’s the person you’re dating. Um, I mean seeing. I mean, aw fuck.” He laughed at himself though it lacked humor. “You know what I mean. It was different. But they’re nice and they love you. So.”
“They liked you, Harris. And you held your own. But hey. It was a lot of peopling, huh?”
“Peopling,” he muttered with a snort. “Yeah, baby, it was a lot of peopling. Now I’m just looking forward to some quiet time with you and Ched.”
At his name, the dog bounded over and barked once, snowy butt wiggling, Harris let me go so he could grab the towel and wipe off his dog. I waited until we were all inside, boots and winterwear off, before I took Harris’s hand.
“We can make quiet time happen,” I assured him.
“Sounds perfect.”
I shooed Harris off to the couch and though he sent me a questioning glance, he went.
I filled Cheddar’s bowl, checked that his water dish was filled, then headed to the fireplace.
Harris watched me as I bent to light the logs and made an appreciative noise.
I glanced over my shoulder to send him a wink, then focused on my task.
The logs caught and I waited to make sure it was going to burn before replacing the screen.
Only then did I saunter over to Harris. I grabbed the fleece throw from the back of the couch and tucked myself against him before tossing the blanket over us.
Harris wrapped his arms around me, kissed the top of my head, and sighed.
His whole body relaxed with the sound. I smiled, kind of hoping our cuddling helped more than the silence.
Cheddar wandered in a few minutes later, hopped up on the other side of Harris, and laid his head on Harris’s lap.
Our fingers tangled together as we both reached to pet the dog’s head at the same time.
“This is really nice,” I said into the quiet a little bit later. “Just the crackling fire and your heartbeat and Cheddar’s snores.”
Harris tightened his arms, pulling me in just that much closer. “It’s perfect. Being here with you…”
“Yeah.” It was all I could say because I didn’t want to break the mood with more serious talk.
It seemed like Harris felt the same. It was stupid that we kept putting it off.
I thought about broaching the subject, bringing up what the future had in store for us, but when I opened my mouth, what came out was, “Why don’t you have a tree? ”
“Never saw the point. Not when it’s just me.” He scratched my scalp.
I lifted my head to look at him, but Harris was staring into the fire.
I tucked my head back under his chin. “Yeah, that makes sense. Besides, this town kinda looks like Christmas threw up all over it. Add to that the Hannukah and Kwanza displays and you can get your holidays just by driving into town.”
“Yep.” Harris breathed deeply for a moment, making my head rise and fall. “Do you, um, do you want to get a tree?”
“It’s not necessary,” I said quickly, not wanting him to go out of his way. Or feeling like he had to do it just for me. If it wasn’t his thing, that was fine. Besides, I hadn’t been lying. Hickory Hollow was so festive that I didn’t feel like I was missing out.
“Okay.” Harris kissed my hair, burying his nose to take in my scent. I smelled like his shampoo, so I wasn’t sure what he found so intriguing. He hummed. “I just wanna hold you all night.”
“I can’t think of anything better.”
Harris was gone when I woke up the next morning but he left me a note on the kitchen table that he went into the office early and to enjoy breakfast with my parents.
He drew a sloppy heart on the bottom and then added that he’d miss our breakfast together.
It took me a few seconds to realize that I had a sappy smile on my face. He really was too sweet.
I met my parents at Mirabelle’s and talked my dad into the frittata challenge. When the six pound frittata was delivered to the table, he groaned and then dove in. Mom smacked me hard across the back of my head. I just laughed.
“You’re an evil child and I don’t know how I raised you,” she tutted, but she had to hide her smile behind her coffee mug.
I made my eyes wide and innocent. “I am my mother’s son.”
“Truer words,” Dad agreed around a mouthful.